In the last scene of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a veteran con
man tells his apprentice, "What you lack in grace, you certainly make
up for in vulgarity." The same could be said of this musical, which
mixes grace and vulgarity in nearly equal measures. Still, a more
appropriate summation of the show would be the one the veteran sings
in the same scene: "It was a ball, it was a blast / And it's a shame
it couldn't last."

Based on the 1988 Steve Martin/Michael Caine movie, Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels tells the story of two con men working the French
RivieraLawrence Jameson (Paul Schoeffler), a suave sophisticate,
and Freddy Benson (Ben Dibble), a lowlife with "a real gift / For
penny-ante grift." Lawrence takes Freddy under his wing, but they end
up competing for the money and the affections of an American heiress
(Jessica Rush).

David Yazbek's score veers from funk to ballads to country and rock
parodies to big, brassy dance numbers, and he handles all the styles
well. His songs are full of gently loping melodies and adroit
wordplay: One song references Cezanne and Don Giovanni, another rhymes
"poker" with "Al Roker," while yet another makes a political joke that
brings down the house. Jeffrey Lane's book takes its time introducing
the characters; act one takes so much time establishing the characters
of Lawrence and Freddy that it's nearly an hour before the leading
lady makes her entrance. Once she does, the plot twists keep coming
fast and furious. Still, it's a very funny book, with a lot of lines
that wink knowingly at the audience and break the fourth wall (when
Lawrence gets confused, he wonders, "Did I miss a scene?"). But, for
every knowing allusion to My Fair Lady, there's a corny
knee-slapper, as when Lawrence's assistant Andre tells his boss of a
rich potential mark from Oklahoma: "Her people are in oil." "Crude?"
"Well, she is a little pushy."

Dibble has a lot of wide-eyed, manic energy as Freddy, and Rush
brings carefree, sunny charm (and a glorious voice) to the part of the
woman the two crooks battle over. But there are problems with the
third side of this triangle: while Paul Schoeffler sings his role
superbly, he is not ideally cast as Lawrence. The script portrays
Lawrence as a father figure to Freddy, but since Schoeffler only
appears to be about a decade older than Dibble, there's not enough
contrast between them. On Broadway, John Lithgow played Lawrence with
a delightfully cartoonish vanity, but Schoeffler, sporting a haircut
that makes him resemble Liev Schreiber, plays the role with too much
brooding intensity. When Lithgow compared his own "perfect" body to
Michelangelo's David, one laughed at the absurdity of it; when
Schoeffler makes the same comparison, one gets the sad feeling he
might actually believe it.

Director Richard Stafford gives every cast member a chance to
shine. His care is most apparent in the romance between Andre (Fran
Prisco) and an American tourist (Mary Martello). On Broadway, this
subplot felt like an unnecessary appendage, but Prisco and Martello
have such great chemistry and warmth (not to mention comic skill) that
their romance gives this outlandish show a needed touch of humanity.
Stafford also provides the choreography, which seems rather awkward at
times, especially during the opening number. (Twice during the show, a
dancing chorus appears to repeat a song's final verse while
camouflaging a scenery change. It just makes the show seem longer.)

Robert Andrew Kovach's set design is somewhat odd. Several major
scenes are played on a raised platform at the rear of the stage,
diluting their impact. Martello has the burden of singing a number on
that platform behind a translucent scrim, making it impossible for her
to score laughs even as she sings some of the show's cleverest lyrics.

The few missteps, however, don't damage the show. Yazbek and Lane
have crafted a show that features funny lines, catchy tunes and
memorable characters. Even if not everything works, the Walnut's
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is still a whole lot of fun.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels runs through October 25, 2009 at the
Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Ticket prices
range from $10 to $70, and are available by calling the box office at
215-574-3550, online at www.walnutstreettheatre.org or
www.ticketmaster.com, or by visiting the box office.